Confessions of a Web Developer VII
It's been quite a while since I've gotten a few things off of my chest and since I'm always full of peeves and annoyances I thought it was time to unleash:
- Ryan Florence said something recently that I realized I completely agreed with: the more I work on the client side, the less I enjoy working on the server side.
- The iPad will be great for mothers, grandmothers, and people who don't need to do much except play music, surf the web, check email, and manage photos. Outside of that, I don't see a lot of value in iPads...yet.
- Opera's huge Opera Mini for iPhone campaign is really ballsy. They're almost begging Apple to reject it and cause a major PR (and legal?) crisis. I'm excited to see how this all shakes out. I'm not excited at the prospect of needing to support another mobile browser.
- Rule for asking for help: if you don't show that you've tried to accomplish something, you don't deserve help.
- I've learned a lot on one of the recent consulting projects I've worked on. Completely opened my eyes to a different way of managing events with JavaScript. Event.target FTW.
- Sometimes when I'm coding something really awesome, I put on sun glasses...even though it's night.
- I've learned in the past three months is that if you want to speak with one of your web heroes (Moo members, Dojo members, startup founders, etc.), all you have to do is ask. They're much more accessible than you'd think (unless you're just looking for support).
- I probably shouldn't but I do take pride in the fact that ScrollSpy is the most downloaded plugin in the MooTools Forge.
- I'm not a jQuery fanboy in any capacity but I HATE when someone spells it "Jquery".
- I haven't been able to make it to any conferences yet but that will change very soon....and I look forward to meeting you all.
- The second I find a primarily JS/CSS/HTML job, I'm taking it. As much as I sometimes enjoy PHP, a front-end job would be perfect for me. And if it were for an agency that did EPL websites, I will have died and gone to heaven.
- A tags are block level in HTML5. FTW and long overdue!
- The level to which web ads are becoming obtrusive is really, really insulting. You know the ads -- the Flash-based ads that end up taking up most of your screen. Complete fucking annoyances. CNNSI has been the worst for me.
- There are whispers of a MooTools conference within a year....
- A GoDaddy support representative recently told my colleague that Java and JavaScript were the same thing. Think about that next time you think about using them for hosting...
- Websites are a lot like picking women: some look super hot but don't have any value outside their looks; others look really nice but have the content and user experience that keep your attention.
Feels good to get that off my chest. Now is when you flame me....
– jQuery has its time and place (I hate to say this even so). But even still, minor spelling annoyances FTW :)
– Umm….dude YOUR site has image based ads…..nearly as bad as Flash IMHO.
– GoDaddy and Dreamhost are two of the worst hosts out there….I completely agree. Media Temple FTW.
– Event.target? How can you mention something awesome and not post links!?! I must learn what this is….
Rule for asking for help: if you don’t show that you’ve tried to accomplish something, you don’t deserve help.
-Not to mention trying to accomlish something will make evrything you do better, as you will learn how to do it instead of relying on handouts.
+ 1 on Event.target
– 1 on ads on your own site ;)
@Tim + Pete – I don’t see how the ads on this site are in anyway obtrusive compared to some of the huge flash ads that constantly pester you for attention!
Agree with all points except the sunglasses, that just makes you sound like a douche :P
“A tags are block level in HTML5.” That’s misleading. Actually, anchor tags are still inline, but can now be placed around block elements.
@Tim Novinger: I’ve been on Dreamhost since 1997 and I absolutely LOVE it! I couldn’t recommend them more.
@Charlie: Thanks for the clarification!
Very nice post Mr. Walsh. You should do those funny ones more often :)
MooTools conference!? I’m game. Best be one on the east cost, Mr. Walsh. Best be.
I found that a lot of IT recruiters also thought that Java and JS were the same thing when I was looking for work last year.
I also like the rule for asking for help. While I’m at it, I have an error in my 2500 line JS file I don’t feel like tracking down. Care to check it out? j/k…nice post
@Alex Crooks: Your douche statement means little coming from an Portsmouth supporter. Hahahah.
I quote Tim Novinger: I wanna know about Event.target! :)
And what do you mean with EPL websites?
Don’t you think you should already be “supporting” Opera Mini even if it’s not on the Iphone? It does have 50 million users and is (one of?) the most widely used mobile browsers…
@Jacob Rask: Good point, although the importance of of anything gets magnified when the iPhone/iPad begin support.
I use Chrome with FlashBlock. It disables any flash from loading until you click the flash button then it loads. Very useful against those annoying ads.
I had problem with Godaddy awhile back with their domains etc, so I switch to namecheap.. so far so good. Still have free SSL that I haven’t use :)
Agree with “Websites are a lot like picking women”
Jquery sounds like a Java’s LINQ.
@David Walsh: haha, I will reserve this comment space for when we win the FA cup :P
what really gets on my wick is not being able to post on outstanding blogs because i’m behind a work proxy. :( :(
Oh btw, Opera Mini for iPhone is in App Store.
Enjoyed your post. I think your adds are fine.
Update: Opera Mini for iPhone has been approved. Seeing mixed reviews about it.
Enjoyed Your Post!
I also enjoy working on the client-side especially since I have the opportunity to work with OPENsports.com
@Lorenzo S.: I don’t know what an EPL website is either.
I enjoyed your post, thanks.
Hahaha! Woah, wearing sun-glasses when you are coding something awesome is the best thing I’ve ever heard. I’m probably going to start doing that too.